INSIDE THE CELTICS: A success almost spiritual

Perhaps nobody can sum up the Boston Celtics' past two spectacular wins than Hindu Prince Siddharta Gautama, the founder of Buddhism:

TIM WEISBERG

Perhaps nobody can sum up the Boston Celtics' past two spectacular wins than Hindu Prince Siddharta Gautama, the founder of Buddhism:

"In the sky, there is no distinction of East and West; people create distinctions out of their own minds and believe them to be true."

The good Prince likely wasn't referring to the Celtics themselves — after all, he died in 483 BC. But his words have proved prophetic: From Boston's lofty position high above the rest of the NBA, it makes no difference where the opposition comes from. Be it the supposedly superior Western Conference or the up-and-coming Eastern, they've handled the best the league has to offer.

There's no longer any doubt who rules the Association.

The Celtics have gone 22-4 against the West, with sweeps of three of its best teams after coming from 22 points down to edge out the Spurs and ending the Rockets' 22-game win streak with a 20-point blowout. They've also defeated the Lakers twice by an average of 16 points, though that was before L.A. acquired Pau Gasol.

Tonight, they finish the Texas Triangle in a national game against Dallas. The Celts toppled the Mavs earlier this season at the Garden — without Kevin Garnett — but Dallas is a different team with Jason Kidd running the floor.

But it's impossible for the Celtics to not be favored in any regular-season game going forward.

"This is definitely a test for us," Paul Pierce said. "You're talking about the top teams in all of basketball. It doesn't get any easier as we go to Dallas and New Orleans."

Going through the rest of the Western playoff ranks, the Celts split with both Utah and Golden State, and lost at Phoenix — the Boston rematch is on tap for next Wednesday. And, as Pierce noted, they still have two games with the Hornets as well.

In the East, they're not doing too badly, either. If the playoffs started today, they would face Atlanta, whom they've beaten in both meetings. They're 3-0 against Toronto, 2-0 against Philadelphia and 2-1 against Detroit, their potential conference finals opponent. They've posted a 2-2 record against Cleveland, and on the scarier side, 1-2 records against Washington and Orlando.

There are tough challenges ahead: The Suns, with Shaq a little more assimilated into what his new team is doing. Those two with the Hornets. Single games against the Sixers, Wizards and Hawks.

If the Celtics have proven anything, however, it's that they're competitive in just about every game, and they are multi-faceted enough to get the job done even when something isn't working just right. Off-night for one of the Big 3? Leon Powe drops 20 points. K.G. getting double-teamed down low? Kendrick Perkins comes up with a double-double.

Rockets star Tracy McGrady, who may not be as influential in the grand scheme of the universe as Prince Siddharta, had his own summation of just how good the Celtics are.

"I've never seen defense like that," said McGrady, who was averaging 22 points a game before the Celts held him to eight. "If they play defense like that night in and night out, then the NBA is trouble because that was defense at its finest."

Music to Red Auerbach's ears, and perhaps above all why Celtics fans are leaving the early part of June open. Everything is coming together in the chemical equation to produce Banner No. 17.

They've got a five-game lead on the Pistons for the top spot in the East. They've already clinched the Atlantic Division. They're the best defensive team in the league, and as long as they remain healthy, they're capable of outscoring just about anyone.

The way things look from here, the Celtics are the only team capable of beating the Celtics, and they've pretty much assured that won't happen with veteran frontcourt help like P.J. Brown and a wily, playoff-tested point guard in Sam Cassell. Both have quickly found their niche, with Cassell playing a key role in Monday night's victory.

And by fortifying a team that was already scary-good, another of Buddha's pearls of wisdom comes to mind:

"It is better to conquer yourself than to win a thousand battles. Then, the victory is yours."

At this point, it's all but a given.

Tim Weisberg covers the Celtics for The Standard-Times. Contact him at timweisberg@hotmail.com